Columns from The Mindful Epidemiologist
- December 5, 2025How technostress pushes us past our limits and disconnects us from human pace.
- September 22, 2025AI companions may soothe briefly, but real human connection is essential for health. Explore neuroscience, risks of AI overuse, and ways to nurture resilience through daily ties.
- May 20, 2025In our rush for efficiency, are we losing what makes us human? Explore the hidden cost of speed and the power of slowing down to truly connect.
- March 24, 2025Dean Melissa Perry discusses how digital compulsion hijacks our brains in her "Psychology Today" column.
- October 28, 2024Emails and messages alone can’t replace the human connections that fuel true productivity.
- June 12, 2024Our eyes are more frequently on screens than on human faces.
- February 16, 2024Analyzing the growing problem of digital-induced amnesia.
Dean Melissa Perry is an ardent proponent of virtual reality and AI as tools to help solve the nation’s health challenges. But, as she tells George Mason President Gregory Washington, a technology overload has also helped create an “epidemic of loneliness” that has heightened the importance of a shared humanity and “being present for each other.” Perry also discusses her suicide attempt as a teenager which ultimately inspired her career in public health.
Richmond Time-Dispatch Commentary
Commentary: In a strained health care system, virtual reality is a game changer. Richmond Times-Dispatch